Manual electronic-part mounting method

ABSTRACT

A manual electronic-part mounting apparatus includes a manual adhesive coating apparatus, a manual electronic-part fitting apparatus, and a manual printed-wiring-board checking apparatus. The manual adhesive coating apparatus has a pressing plate portion to which a large number of needles are fitted, being arranged such that the needles with the adhesive are brought in contact with a printed-wiring board, thereby the adhesive being coated on predetermined positions of the printed-wiring board. The manual electronic-part fitting apparatus has a large number of electronic-part supply rods. The electronic-part supply rod has an electronic-part storage rod supported by a fixed plate and an extruding rod supported by a movable plate. When the movable plate is moved relative to the fixed plate, the chip-type electronic part is extruded from an end-portion side aperture of the electronic-part storage rod.

This application is a Div. application of 08/843,756, Apr. 21, 1997 nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,942,083.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic-part mounting apparatusfor mounting electronic parts on a printed-wiring board and moreparticularly to an electronic-part mounting apparatus for manuallymounting chip-type electronic parts on a printed-wiring board.

2. Description of the Related Art

An electronic-part mounting apparatus for mounting electronic parts on aprinted-wiring board, particularly an automatic electronic-part mountingapparatus for automatically mounting electronic parts are widely known.

An automatic electronic-part mounting apparatus will be described withreference to FIG. 1 by way of example. The automatic electronic-partmounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has an electronic-part supply device210 for continuously supplying chip-type electronic parts, a mountinghead 220 for carrying the electronic parts to a positioning position ona printed-wiring board 50 with holding the electronic parts byattraction, a positioning unit 221 for positioning the electronic partsat the positioning position, and an XY table 230 for supporting theprinted-wiring board 50 so that the printed-wiring board 50 can be movedin the.X and Y directions.

The chip-type electronic parts have various types or various shapes.Typically, the chip-type electronic parts have a rectangular shape andhave, in view of a dimension, a width ranging from 1.0 to 1.2 mm, alength ranging from 1.8 mm to 2.0 mm and a height ranging from 0.4 to0.5 mm.

The electronic-part supply device 210 employs a so-called carrier tapesystem. In the carrier tape system, the chip-type electronic parts aretaped at a constant interval by a long carrier tape 211 wound around areel. The carrier tape 211 is usually formed of two tapes, i.e., a toptape on its front side and a bottom tape on its rear side, and theelectronic parts are supported while being gripped between the twotapes. A plurality of part cassettes 212 each including such reel areloaded onto the electronic-part supply device 210.

The electronic-part supply deice 210 may employ a system of supplyingchip-type electronic parts individually housed in a bulk case other thanthe carrier tape system. The system of individually supplying theelectronic parts is called a bulk feeder in which the electronic partsare housed in a plastic bulk case and the bulk case is loaded onto theelectronic-part supply device.

The mounting head 220 has a rotary table 222 which can be rotated abouta center axis and a plurality of attracting nozzles 223. The attractingnozzles 223 are fitted along a circumferential direction of the rotarytable 222. As the rotary table 222 is rotated, the attracting nozzles223 are also rotated. The attracting nozzles 223 are moved among anattracting position where the attracting nozzles 223 attract theelectronic parts supported on the carrier tape 211, the positioningposition where the positioning unit 221 positions the electronic parts,and a mounting position where the electronic parts are mounted on theprinted-wiring board 50.

An operation of the automatic electronic-part mounting apparatus willsubsequently be described. Initially, the printed-wiring board 50 isconveyed from a loading station onto the XY table 230. The attractingnozzle 223 located at the attracting position attracts the chip-typeelectronic parts, and the rotary table 222 is rotated. Thereafter, theattracting nozzle 223 is moved to the positioning position.

At the positioning position, the positioning unit 221 positions theelectronic parts. When the operation of positioning the electronic partsis finished, the rotary table 222 is rotated and consequently theattracting nozzle 223 is moved to the mounting position. At the mountingposition, the attracting nozzle 223 is lifted down to mount theelectronic parts, which the attracting nozzle has held, on theprinted-wiring board 50.

When the electronic parts are mounted on the printed-wiring board 50,the XY table 230 is moved to the next mounting position. When thisoperation is repeatedly carried out and consequently all the electronicparts have been mounted on the printed-wiring board, the printed-wiringboard 50 is returned to the initial position. Finally, theprinted-wiring board 50 is ejected from the XY table 230 to an unloadingposition. This sequential operation is repeated.

According to the automatic electronic-part mounting apparatus shown inFIG. 1, the chip-type electronic parts are successively mounted on theprinted-wiring board 50 one by one. Every time when one of the chip-typeelectronic parts is mounted on the printed-wiring board, the attractingnozzle 223 must be lifted down and up. Thereafter, the rotary table 222is rotated and then the attracting nozzle 223 is lifted down and upagain Operations of the attracting nozzle 223 and the rotary table 232are carried out in a predetermined order.

In order to carry out efficiently the electronic-part mounting process,it is necessary to reduce a time required for mounting one electronicpart. For this end, it may be sufficient to increase speeds of movementsof the attracting nozzle 223 and the rotary table 222. However, even ifthe speeds are increased, it is impossible to reduce the time requiredfor mounting one electronic part beyond a certain extent. Therefore, itis impossible to increase the speeds beyond the limit.

Even if the time required for mounting one electronic part can bereduced, a time required for carrying out the electronic-part mountingprocess becomes longer as the number of the electronic parts to bemounted on one printed-wiring board 50 is increased.

When the automatic electronic-part mounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 isemployed, if the number of the electronic parts to be mounted isincreased or if it is necessary to carry out the mounting operation athigher speed, then the apparatus tends to become large in size and tobecome complicated, which requires more costs and limits a room wherethe apparatus is located.

Since the automatic electronic-part mounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1is arranged so as to automatically mount the electronic parts on theprinted-wiring board 50, the conventional automatic electronic-partmounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 requires a drive mechanism and acontrol device, which complicates an arrangement of the automaticelectronic-part mounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and makes a sizethereof larger.

The automatic electronic-part mounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 employsa process for checking the electronic parts mounted on theprinted-wiring board 50. This checking process is carried out by using aconsiderable expensive apparatus utilizing a video processing technique,for example, or the like. Therefore, the automatic electronic-partmounting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 inevitably includes the disadvantagethat its arrangement becomes complicated and hence costs of equipment isincreased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of such aspects, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an electronic-part mounting apparatus which is arranged so as tobe able to simultaneously mount a plurality of chip-type electronicparts on a printed-wiring board.

In view of such aspects, it is another object thereof to provide anelectronic-part mounting apparatus having a small size and a simplearrangement.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a manual adhesivecoating apparatus includes a base plate having a supporting member forsupporting a printed-wiring board and an adhesive storage groove forstoring an adhesive, and a pressing plate portion to which a largenumber of needles are fitted, being arranged such that the needles arebrought in contact with the adhesive stored in the adhesive storagegroove to put the adhesive on the needles and the needles with theadhesive are brought in contact with the printed-wiring board supportedby the supporting member, thereby the adhesive being coated onpredetermined positions of the printed-wiring board.

According to a Second aspect of the present invention, a manualelectronic-part fitting apparatus includes a fixed plate, a movableplate which can be moved relative to the fixed plate, a supporting platefor supporting a printed-wiring board, and a large number ofelectronic-part supply rods, being arranged such that theelectronic-part supply rod incorporates an electronic-part storage rodhaving an aperture for storing a large number of chip-type electronicparts piled in a line therein and an extruding rod disposed in theaperture, and that the electronic-part storage rod is supported by thefixed plate so that its first end portion should be located in thevicinity of a surface of a printed-wiring board supported by thesupporting plate, the extruding rod is supported by the movable plate,and when the movable plate is moved relative to the fixed plate, theextruding rod is moved inward in the aperture of the electronic-partstorage rod, thereby the chip-type electronic part being extruded fromthe side of the first end portion of the aperture.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a manualelectronic-part fitting apparatus includes a supporting member forsupporting a printed-wiring board, a top plate disposed above theprinted-wiring board and having a large number of apertures, and anelectronic-part supply rod, being arranged such that the electronic-partsupply rod incorporates an electronic-part storage rod having anaperture for storing a large number of chip-type electronic parts piledin a line therein and an extruding rod disposed in the aperture, andthat the electronic-part storage rod is inserted into the aperture ofthe top plate so that its first end portion should be located in thevicinity of a surface of a printed-wiring board supported by thesupporting plate, and the extruding rod is moved inward in the apertureof the electronic-part storage rod, thereby the chip-type electronicpart being extruded from the side of the first end portion of theaperture.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a checkingapparatus includes a rod disposed so as to correspond to a position of achip-type electronic part to be mounted on a printed-wiring board and soas to stand straight on the printed-wiring board, and a lamp disposed soas to correspond to the rod, being arranged such that the rod isdisposed at either of a first position where it is located on thechip-type electronic part and a second position where it is not locatedon the chip-type electronic part, and the lamp corresponding to a rodlocated at the second position is turned on.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a manual adhesivecoating method includes the steps of putting an adhesive on a largenumber of needles fitted to a pressing plate portion, and of disposingthe pressing plate portion so that it should be opposed to theprinted-wiring board to thereby bring the needles with the adhesive incontact with the printed-wiring board.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a manualelectronic-part fitting method includes the steps of providing a largenumber of electronic-part supply rods each having an aperture forstoring a large number of chip-type electronic parts piled in linetherein and an extruding rod disposed in the aperture, of supporting theelectronic-part storage rod so that a first end portion of theelectronic-part storage rod should be located adjacent to a surface of aprinted-wiring board, and of moving the extruding rod inward in theaperture of the electronic-part storage rod to thereby extrude thechip-type electronic part from the side of the first; end portion of theaperture.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a checkingmethod includes the steps of disposing a rod so as to correspond to aposition of a chip-type electronic part to be mounted on aprinted-wiring board and so as to stand straight on the printed-wiringboard, and of disposing a lamp so as to correspond to the rod. The rodis disposed at either of a first position where it is located on thechip-type electronic part and a second position where it is not locatedon the chip-type electronic part, and the lamp corresponding to a rodlocated at the second position is turned on.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain an automatic electronic-partmounting apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a manual adhesive coating apparatus of amanual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, showing a state that a pressing plate portion islocated at its standby state and a base plate is located at its adhesivecoating position;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the manual adhesive coating apparatus of themanual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present invention in a state that the pressing plate portion islocated at its pressed position and the base plate is located at itsadhesive pickup position;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the manual adhesive coating apparatus of themanual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present invention in a state that the pressing plate portion islocated at its pressed position and the base plate is located at itsadhesive coating position;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a manual electronic-part fitting apparatusof the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to theembodiment of the present invention in a state that a supporting plateis located at its opened standby position and a movable plate is locatedat its lower-side standby position;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an arrangement of anelectronic-part supply rod of the manual electronic-part fittingapparatus shown in FIG. 5, by way of example;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the manual electronic-part fitting apparatusof the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to theembodiment of the present invention in a state that the supporting plateis located at its closed fitting position and the movable plate islocated at its lower-side standby position;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the manual electronic-part fitting apparatusof the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to theembodiment of the present invention in a state that the supporting plateis located at its closed fitting position and the movable plate islocated at its upper-side fitting position;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing a structure and an operation of achip-type electronic-part loading apparatus of the manualelectronic-part mounting apparatus according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a structure and an operation of amanual electronic-part fitting apparatus according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a manual electronic-part checkingapparatus of the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according tothe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a front view of the manual electronic-part checking apparatusof the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a partial, detailed diagram used to explain an operation ofthe manual electronic-part checking apparatus of the manualelectronic-part mounting apparatus according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 14A and 14B diagrams used to explain an example of an arrangementof needles provided on a top plate shown in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 15A to 15C are diagrams showing a method of indicating a rotationposition of the electronic-part supply rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to an embodimentaccording to the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings. FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show a manual adhesive coating apparatusof the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to theembodiment of the present invention. The manual adhesive coatingapparatus according to the embodiment has a base plate portion 11 and apressing plate portion 31. The base plate portion 11 has a rectangularportion 11A and a trapezoid portion 11B.

The pressing plate portion 31 is pivotally mounted on the base plateportion 11 by some proper pivoting device. The pressing plate portion 31can manually be moved between a standby position shown in FIG. 2 and apressing position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. For example, as shown in FIG.2, the pivoting device may have pins provided at end portions of thepressing plate portion 31 and apertures which are provided through atrapezoid portion 11B of the base plate portion 11 and into which thepins are inserted.

The rectangular portion 11A of the base plate portion 11 has a shallowgroove 11a formed on its upper surface. A rectangular base plate 13 isdisposed in the groove 11a. A width of the base plate 13 is equal tothat of the groove 11a, but a longitudinal-direction length of the baseplate 13 is shorter than that of the groove 11a. The base plate 13 isarranged so that it can manually be slid in the longitudinal directionin the groove 11a. The base plate 13 can be moved between an adhesivepickup position located at the left side in the groove 11a shown in FIG.3 and an adhesive coating position located at the right side in thegroove 11a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

Four supporting members 15A, 15B, 15C and 15D for supporting aprinted-wiring board 50 (shown by a one-dot chain line in FIGS. 2, 3 and4) are provided at the left side portion on an upper surface of the baseplate 13. Each of the supporting members 15A to 15C has a shoulderportion for supporting the printed-wiring board 50. The two supportingmembers 15A and 15C have holes 15a and 15b, respectively.

A rectangular shallow concave portion, i.e., an adhesive storage groove13a for storing an adhesive is formed at the right side portion on theupper surface of the base plate 13. As shown in FIG. 2, a leveller 21may be used to flatten an upper surface of the adhesive stored in theadhesive storage groove 13a.

The rectangular portion 11A of the base plate portion 11 has a stopper17 for being engaged with a head end portion of the pressing plateportion 31, the stopper 17 being provided at a position corresponding tothe pressing plate portion 31. A spring 19 is provided on an uppersurface of the trapezoid portion 11B.

A top plate 33 is fitted to the pressing plate portion 31. A largenumber of needles 35 are provided on the top plate 33. The top plate 33is larger than the printed-wiring board 50 and has a dimensioncorresponding to an outer circumference of a square formed by the foursupporting members 15A, 15B, 15C and 15D. The needles 35 are disposed atpositions corresponding to positions of chip-type electronic parts to bemounted on the printed-wiring board 50. The top plate 33 have twoprojections 37A and 37B respectively provided along both side edgesthereof.

An operation of the adhesive coating apparatus according to thisembodiment will be described. In a state that the pressing plate portion31 is in its standby state as shown in FIG. 2, the printed-wiring board50 is disposed at the four supporting members 15A, 15B, 15C and 15D atthe left side portion of the base plate 13. The printed-wiring board 50is positioned by engaging respective four sides thereof with theshoulder portions of the four supporting members 15A, 15B, 15C and 15D.

An adhesive is put in the adhesive storage groove 13a at the right sideportion of the base plate 13. The leveler 21 is manually traveled on theadhesive. A lower surface of the leveler 21 flattens an upper surface ofthe adhesive.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base plate 13 is slid toward the left side tothe adhesive pickup position, and the pressing plate portion 31 ispressed down from its standby position to its pressed position. Untilthe upper end portion of the pressing plate portion 31 is brought incontact with the stopper 17, the pressing plate portion 31 is pivotallymoved. When the pressing plate portion 31 is located at the pressedposition, the needles 35 provided on the top plate 33 are soaked in theadhesive stored in the adhesive storage groove 13a. When the pressingplate portion 31 is located at the pressed position, the spring 19 iscompressed.

The pressing plate portion 31 is returned from the pressed position tothe standby position. When the pressing plate portion 31 is returned tothe standby position, it is possible to utilize a spring force of thespring 19. In a state that the pressing plate portion 31 is returned tothe standby position, the adhesive is put on the needles 35 of the topplate 33.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base plate 13 is slid in the right direction tothe adhesive coating position, and then pressed down from its standbyposition to its pressed position. Until the upper end portion of thepressing plate portion 31 is brought in contact with the stopper 17, thepressing plate portion 31 is pivotally moved. This movement brings tipends of the needles 35 in contact with the printed-wiring board 50, andconsequently the adhesive put on the needles 35 is coated on theprinted-wiring board 50.

A structure of the needle 35 will be described later on (see FIGS. 14Aand 14B). Each of the needles 35 has a mechanism for constantly pressingits tip end on the printed-wiring board 50 with a constant force inorder to prevent the tip end from damaging a surface of theprinted-wiring board 50. Pins provided at the tip ends of the needles 35are arranged so as to be inserted into sleeves buried in the top plate33. When the tip ends of the needles 35 are brought in contact with theprinted-wiring board 50, the pins at the tip ends of the needles 35 arerelatively moved backward into the sleeves against spring forces ofsprings provided in the sleeves. Thus, the tip ends of the needles 35are constantly pressed on the printed-wiring board 50 with a constantforce by constant spring forces of the springs.

A pair of projections 37A, 37B provided on the top plate 33 are engagedwith the holes 15a, 15b provided in the two supporting members 15A, 15C,respectively, thereby the top plate 33 being positioned relative to theprinted-wiring board 50. Therefore, the adhesive is precisely coated onthe printed-wiring board 50 at positions corresponding to the needles35.

When the above operation of coating the adhesive is finished, thepressing plate portion 31 is returned from its pressed position to itsstandby position. Consequently, the adhesive coating process is finishedand the printed-wiring board 50 is conveyed for the next process. If theposition of the chip-type electronic part to be mounted on theprinted-wiring board 50 is changed, it is sufficient to change thepositions of the needles 35 provided on the top plate 33. The top plate33 has small holes for holding the needles, and the needles 35 are heldin the holes. Therefore, the positions of the needles can be changed.

The manual electronic-part mounting apparatus will be further describedwith reference to FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 7 and 8. FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 7 and 8 arediagrams showing a manual electronic-part fitting apparatus of themanual electronic-part mounting apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present invention. The manual electronic-part fitting apparatusaccording to this embodiment has three fixed plates disposed in parallelto one another, i.e., a top plate 51, a middle plate 53 and a bottomplate 55, and one movable plate 57. The three fixed plates 51, 53 and 55are supported by four column-shaped members 61A, 61B, 61C and 61D(column-shaped member 61D is not shown).

A fitting member 63 is provided at an edge of the top plate 51. Thefitting member 63 has a supporting plate 59 for supporting theprinted-wiring board 50. The supporting plate 59 is pivotally providedat the fitting member 63 by some proper pivoting device. The pivotingdevice, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, may have pins provided at edgesof the supporting plate 59 and holes which are formed through thefitting member 63 and into which the pins are inserted. The supportingplate 59 can manually pivotally be moved between its standby positionshown in FIG. 5 and the mounting position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The supporting plate 59 has some proper holding device for holding theprinted-wiring board 50. In this embodiment, projection portions 59A and59B are provided at both of edges of the supporting plate 59. Grooves59a and 59b are formed along the projection portions 59A and 59B,respectively. Both of the edges of the printed-wiring board 50 areengaged with the grooves 59a, 59b, respectively.

Three supporting members 65A, 65B, 65C for supporting the printed-wiringboard 50 (shown by one-dot chain line in FIGS. 5, 7 and 8) are providedon an upper surface of the top plate 51. Each of the supporting members65A, 65B, 65C has a shoulder portion for supporting the printed-wiringboard 50. A stopper 67 is provided on the upper surface of the top plate51 adjacent to the supporting member 65B.

The stopper 67 has a shoulder portion for supporting an edge of thesupporting plate 59 and a rotary member 68 rotatably provided thereon.

A large number of long electronic-part supply rods 73 extended throughthe top plate 51 and the middle plate 53 to the movable plate 57 aredisposed as shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 8. The electronic-part supply rods73 are disposed so as to correspond to positions of the chip-typeelectronic parts to be mounted on the printed-wiring board 50.Therefore, the electronic-part supply rods 73 are disposed so as tocorrespond to the positions of the needles 35 (see FIG. 2) provided onthe top plate 33 of the manual adhesive coating apparatus.

A structure of the electronic-part supply rod 73 will. be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. Each of the electronic-partsupply rods 73 has a long electronic-part supply storage rod 73A made ofplastic and an extruding rod 73B made of some proper metal such asstainless steel, for example.

The electronic-part storage rod 73A has an aperture 73a having a crosssection corresponding to a shape of an electronic part. If a squareelectronic part is stored, then the cross section of the aperture 73a isa square, and if a rectangular electronic part is stored, then the crosssection of the aperture 73a is a rectangular. As shown in FIGS. 6A and6B, a large number of chip-type electronic parts 75 are loaded in theaperture 73a of the electronic-part storage rod 73A so as to besuccessively piled and arranged in line.

A holding member 73C having a cross section of the same shape as that ofthe cross section of the aperture 73a is disposed under the piledchip-type electronic parts 75. The holding member 73C is held byfriction force between it and an inner surface of the aperture 73a, andis held at its present position if it is not applied with an externalforce. Therefore, the holding member 73C allows the piled chip-typeelectronic parts 75 to be held in the aperture 73a of theelectronic-part storage rod 73A without falling down.

The extruding rod 73B is inserted into the aperture 73a of theelectronic-part storage rod 73A from ifs lower-side opening, anddisposed so that its tip end should be located under the holding member73C.

When the extruding rod 73B is moved upward from a state shown in FIG.6A, the holding member 73C is also moved upward and consequently thepiled electronic parts 75 are moved upward. As a result, as shown inFIG. 6B, the upper most one of the piled electronic parts 75 is extrudedfrom an upper-side opening of the aperture 73a of the electronic-partstorage rod 73A.

The manual electronic-part fitting apparatus will be described withreference to FIG. 5 again. The electronic-part storage rod 73A of theelectronic-part supply rod 73 is fixed and supported by the top plate 51and the middle plate 53, and the tip end of the electronic-part storagerod 73A of the electronic-part is slightly projected from the uppersurface of the top plate 51. A lower end of the extruding rod 73B isfixed on the movable plate 57.

The movable plate 57 is connected to some proper drive apparatus, notshown, and can be moved in the upward and downward directions thereby.Such drive apparatus may have an air cylinder or.a hydraulic cylinder ormay be an electric or magnetic drive apparatus such as a solenoid.

The movable plate 57 is arranged so that it can be moved between itslower-side standby position shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 and its upper-sidefitting position shown in FIG. 8 both of which are located between themiddle plate 53 and the bottom plate 55.

When the movable plate 57 is moved upward from its standby position toits fitting position, the extruding rod 73B fitted to the movable plate57 is moved upward. Since the electronic-part storage rod 73A is fixed,the extruding rod 73B is moved upward in the aperture 73a of theelectronic-part storage rod 73A and the chip-type electronic parts 75piled and stored in the electronic-part storage rod 73A are raised.Consequently, the uppermost one of the chip-type electronic parts 75 isextruded from the upper end of the electronic-part supply rod 73.

The electronic-part supply rod 73 has a mechanism for constantlypressing the chip-type electronic part on the printed-wiring board 50with a constant force. A lower end of the extruding rod 73B is arrangedso as to be inserted into a sleeve of the movable plate 57. A structureof the extruding rod 73B will be described later on (with reference toFIGS. 14A and 14B). When the movable plate 57 is moved upward andconsequently the uppermost chip-type electronic part stored in theelectronic-part storage rod 73A is brought in contact with theprinted-wiring board 50, the extruding rod 73B is prevented from beingmoved upward further. Therefore, the extruding rod 73B is relativelymoved backward into the sleeve against a spring force of a springdisposed in the sleeve. Thus, the chip-type electronic part is pressedonto the printed-wiring board 50 by a constant force resulting from thespring force of the spring.

An operation of the manual electronic-part fitting apparatus accordingto this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, in a statethat the supporting plate 59 is located at its standby position, theprinted-wiring board 50 is fitted to and held by the supporting plate59. As described above, both-side edges of the printed-wiring board 50are engaged with the grooves 59a, 59b formed along the projectionportions 59A, 59B, respectively.

As described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the adhesive is previouslycoated on the printed-wiring board 50 by using the manual adhesivecoating apparatus according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, thesupporting plate 59 is manually pivotally moved from its standbyposition to its fitting position. As shown in FIG. 7, the rotary member68 fitted to the stopper 67 is rotated, thereby the supporting plate 59being fixed.

Thus, the supporting plate 59 is held at its fitting position. At thistime, the tip end of the supporting plate 59 is in contact with theshoulder portion of the stopper 67 and the three sides of theprinted-wiring board 50 are respectively engaged with the shoulderportions of the three supporting members 65A, 65B, 65C, thereby theprinted-wiring bard 50 being positioned.

As shown in FIG. 8, the movable plate 57 is lifted up from thelower-side standby position to the upper-side fitting position. Asdescribed above, it is by the drive apparatus connected to the movableplate 57 that the movable plate 57 is moved. When the movable plate 57is lifted up, the extruding rod 73B of the electronic-part supply rod 73fitted to the movable plate 57 is also lifted up. Since theelectronic-part storage rod 73A of the electronic-part supply rod 73 isfixed on the two plates 51, 53, the extruding rod 73B is moved upward inthe aperture 73a of the electronic-part storage rod 73A and consequentlythe uppermost electronic part 75 of the electronic parts 75 stored inthe electronic-part storage rod 73A is extruded from the upper end ofthe aperture 73a and then pressed onto the printed-wiring board 50.

Since the adhesive is coated on the printed-wiring board 50 at thepositions corresponding to the electronic-part supply rods 73, theelectronic parts 75 are adhered to the printed-wiring board 50 by theadhesive. Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to mount alarge number of electronic parts 75 on the printed-wiring board 50simultaneously. When the chip-type electronic parts 75 are mounted onthe printed-wiring board 50, the movable plate 57 is lifted down fromthe upper-side fitting position to the lower-side standby position.Subsequently, the rotary member 68 is rotated, thereby the supportingplate 59 being pivotally moved from the fitting position to the standbyposition. Then, the printed-wiring board 50 can be detached from thesupporting plate 59.

The electronic-part supply rod 73 has a predetermined outside diameterand are prevented from being located at an interval between the adjacentelectronic-part supply rods 73 which cannot be set smaller than apredetermined interval. Therefore, it is impossible to set an intervalbetween the electronic parts 75 mounted on the printed-wiring board 50smaller than a predetermined interval. If it is necessary to mount theelectronic parts 75 on the printed-wiring board 50 at high density, themanual electric-part fitting apparatus according to this embodiment maybe used to mount the electric parts 75 on the same printed-wiring board50 plural times. In this case, the electric-part supply rods 73 aredisposed at positions which are different from those where theelectric-part supply rods 73 are previously located.

Thus, the adhesive is put on the printed-wiring board 50 by the adhesivecoating apparatus according to this embodiment and the chip-typeelectronic parts 75 are mounted the printed-wiring board 50 by thechip-type electronic-part fitting apparatus according to this embodimentdescribed with reference to FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 7 and 8. Then, the processof fitting the electronic parts 75 is completed.

The chip-type electronic parts 75 may be mounted on one surface of theprinted-wiring board 50 or both of surfaces thereof. When the chip-typeelectronic parts are mounted on both of the surfaces, the above fittingprocess is repeatedly carried out. The printed-wiring board 50 thussubjected to the above fitting process is conveyed for the next process,i.e., a soldering process. In the soldering process, the soft solderingoperation is carried out by a reflowing furnace, for example.

A loading apparatus for loading the chip-type electronic parts 75 intothe electronic-part supply rod 73 will be described with reference toFIGS. 9A and 9B by way of example. In this embodiment, the chip-typeelectronic parts 75 held on the carrier tape are loaded into theelectronic-part supply rod 73 by an attraction nozzle 223. The loadingapparatus according to this embodiment may employ the electronic-partsupply device 210 and the attraction nozzle 223 both of which have beendescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

The carrier tape is drawn from a part reel rotatably supported by a partcassette, not shown, (see FIG. 1). A carrier tape 211 shown in FIG. 1 isformed of an upper-side top tape (not shown) and a lower-side bottomtape 211A, and the electronic parts 75 are held between the upper-sidetop tape and the lower-side bottom tape 211A. When the carrier tape isdrawn from the part reel, the upper-side top tape is taken up, only thelower-side bottom tape 211A holding the chip-type electronic parts 75 isdrawn therefrom.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing the bottom tape 211A drawn to a tipend portion of the electronic-part supply device 210. The tip endportion of the electronic-part supply device 210 has a supporting stand210-1 and a supporting metallic part 210-2 disposed on the supportingstand 210-1. The bottom tape 211A is held between the supporting stand210-1 and the supporting metallic part 210-2.

The electronic-part supply rod 73 is disposed adjacent to the bottomtape 211A and supported by some proper supporting device. Theelectronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted into an aperture 210-3A of asupporting plate 210-3 and supported by the supporting plate 210-3. Theattraction nozzle 223 is arranged so as to reciprocate between anattraction position located above the bottom tape 211A as shown in FIG.9A and a loading position located above the electronic-part supply rod73 as shown in FIG. 9B. The attraction nozzle 223 can further be movedupward and downward at both of the attraction position and the loadingposition.

An operation of the loading apparatus according to this embodiment willbe described. As shown in FIG. 9A, the attraction nozzle 223 is disposedat the attraction position, being lifted down thereat to attract thechip-type electronic part 75. The attraction nozzle 223 is lifted upwith holding the electronic part 75 at its lower end by attraction.Subsequently, the attraction nozzle 223 is moved to the loading positionas shown in FIG. 9B, being lifted down thereat to load the chip-typeelectronic part 75 into the electronic-part supply rod 73.

The electronic-part loading apparatus according to this embodiment hassome proper mechanism for transmitting a lateral-direction movement ofthe attraction nozzle 223 to a carrier-tape feeding mechanism. When theattraction nozzle 223 is moved between the attraction position and theloading position, the bottom tape 211A is fed by one pitch amount. Suchoperation is repeated, thereby the chip-type electronic parts 75 beingloaded into the electronic-part supply rod 73.

An electronic-part fitting apparatus according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A and10B. According to the second embodiment, the electronic-part fittingapparatus has a top plate 81 and a bottom plate 83. Four supportingmembers 85A, 85B, 85C and 85D for supporting the printed-wiring board 50(shown by one-dot chain line in FIGS. 10A and 10B) on an upper surfaceof the bottom plate 83. These supporting members 85A, 85B, 85C and 85Dmay respectively have the same structures as those of the foursupporting members 15A, 15B, 15C and 15D described with reference toFIG. 2.

The top plate 81 has a large number of apertures formed therethrough andused for inserting the electronic-part supply rods 73 thereinto. Theapertures 82 are defined so as to correspond to the positions of thechip-type electronic parts 75 to be mounted on the printed-wiring board50.

The top plate 81 has four supporting members 81A, 81B, 81C and 81D(supporting member 81D is not shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B) fitted to itsfour corners and positioning projections 81E and 81F (positioningprojection 81E is not shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B) provided at both sideedges. The positioning projections 81E and 81F are engaged with holes85a and 85b provided at the corresponding supporting members 85A and85C, respectively.

An operation of the electronic-part fitting apparatus according to thesecond embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 10A, theprinted-wiring board 50 is mounted on four supporting members 85A, 85B,85C and 85D of the bottom plate 83. The printed-wiring board 50 ispositioned by respectively engaging its four sides with shoulderportions of the four supporting members 85A, 85B, 85C and 85D. Theadhesive is previously coated on the printed-wiring board 50 by usingthe manual adhesive coating apparatus according to this embodiment asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10B, the top plate 81 is disposed on theprinted-wiring board 50. The four supporting members 81A, 81B, 81C and81D of the top plate 81 are disposed on the upper surface of the bottomplate 83. At this time, the positioning projections 81E and 81F arerespectively engaged with the holes 85a and 85b of the supportingmembers 85A and 85C, thereby the top plate 81 being positioned.

The electronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted into the aperture 82 ofthe top plate 81. The electronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted into theaperture 82 such that the electronic-part storage rod 73A is located atthe lower side and the extruding rod 73B is located at the upper side.The electronic-part storage rod 73A is disposed so that its tip endshould be disposed sufficiently close to the surface of theprinted-wiring board 50, and then the extruding rod 73B is presseddownward. In the second embodiment, the extruding rod 73B is manuallyextruded. As the result of the extrusion, the chip-type electronic-part75 is extruded from the tip end of the electronic-part storage rod 73A,and the lowermost chip-type electronic part 75 of the chip-typeelectronic-part storage rod 73A is mounted on the printed-wiring board50.

The above operation is repeatedly carried out. Specifically, theelectronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted into another aperture 82 ofthe top plate 81 and the extruding rod iLs pressed downward, thereby thechip-type electronic part 75 being mounted on the printed-wiring board50. A plurality of electronic-part supply rods 73 are simultaneouslyinserted into the apertures 82 of the top plate 81, then their extrudingrods 73B being simultaneously pressed downward.

An arrangement and an operation of a manual printed-wiring-boardchecking apparatus according to the embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 11 to 13. The checking apparatus according to theembodiment checks whether or not the chip-type electronic parts 75 aremounted on respective predetermined positions of the printed-wiringboard 50. An arrangement of the checking apparatus according to theembodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 13. Thechecking apparatus according to the embodiment has a top plate 91, amiddle plate 93 and a bottom plate 95, and these three plates 91, 93, 95are supported by four column-shaped members 97A, 97B, 97C and 97D(column-shaped member 97D is not shown in FIGS. 11 and 12).

The printed-wiring board 50 to be checked is disposed below the checkingapparatus so that its surface to be checked should be faced upward. Asclearly shown in FIG. 12, the four column-shaped members 97A, 97B, 97Cand 97D have shoulder portions 97a, 97b (only two shoulder portions areshown in FIG. 12) formed at their lower end portions, respectively. Theprinted-wiring board 50 is engaged with these shoulder portions.

The checking apparatus according to the embodiment further has a largenumber of rods 101 which are pierced through the middle plate 73 and thebottom plate 75 and can be moved in the upward and downward directions,and a large number of lamps 103 disposed on an upper surface of the topplate 91 so as to correspond to the above rods. Each of the lamps 103may include a laser light emitting diode, for example. These rods 101and lamps 103 are disposed so as to correspond to the chip-typeelectronic parts 75 to be mounted on the printed-wiring board 50.

The rod 101 has a guard-like member 101A, the guard-like member 101Abeing made of a conductive material, e.g., copper. The guard-like member101A is disposed above the middle plate 93. The guard-like member 101Ais electrically connected to the lamp 103 through some proper electricwire 105.

The checking apparatus according to this embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIG. 13. Copper foils 92, 94 are respectively coatedon a lower surface of the top plate 91 and an upper surface of themiddle plate 93. A chamfered portion 93B may be provided at anupper-side opening of an aperture 93A of the middle plate 93. The copperfoil 94 is not coated on the chamfered portion 93B.

Of two terminals 103A, 103B of the lamp 103, the one terminal 103A isconnected to the copper foil 92, and the other terminal 103B isconnected to the electric wire 105. Both of the copper foils 92, 94 arerespectively connected to both side terminals of a battery 107.

The rod 101 can be moved between a first position on the upper side (therod 101 on the right side in FIG. 13) and a. second position on thelower side (the rod 101 on the left side in FIG. 13). At the firstposition, the guard-like member 101A is located away from the copperfoil 94 disposed on the upper surface of the middle plate 93. At thesecond position, the guard-like member 101A is in contact with thecopper foil 94 disposed on the upper surface of the middle plate 93.

At the second position, since the first terminal 103A of the lamp 103 iselectrically connected through the copper foil 92 to the one terminal ofthe battery 107 and the second terminal 103B of the lamp 103 iselectrically connected to the other terminal of the battery 107 throughthe electric wire 105, the guard-like member 101A and the copper foil94, the lamp 103 is turned on. At the first position, since the firstterminal 103A of the lamp 103 is electrically connected through thecopper foil 92 to the one terminal of the battery 107 but the secondterminal 103B of the lamp 103 is not electrically connected to the otherterminal of the battery 107 due to electrical interruption between theguard-like member 101A and the copper foil 94, the lamp 103 is notturned on.

The lower end of the rod 101 is disposed on a surface to be checked ofthe printed-wiring board 50. When the lower end of the rod 101 islocated on the chip-type electronic part 75, the rod 101 is located atthe first position, while when the lower end thereof is not located onthe chip-type electronic part 75, the rod 101 is located at the secondposition. Therefore, when the rod 101 is located at the first position,i.e., when the lower end thereof is in contact with the chip-typeelectronic part 75, the lamp 103 is not turned on. On the other hand,when the rod 101 is located at the second position, i.e., when the lowerend thereof is in contact with the chip-type electronic part 75, thelamp 103 is turned on.

Since the lamp 103 is located at a position corresponding to theposition where the chip-type electronic part 75 is to be mounted on theprinted-wiring board 50, it can be determined that the chip-typeelectronic part 75 is not mounted at a position where the lamp 103 isturned on.

A vertical position of the rod 101 at the first position is differentfrom a vertical position of the rod 101 at the second position by athickness of the chip-type electronic part 75. For example, if thethickness of the chip-type electronic part 75 is 0.4 mm, the rod 101 atthe first position is located at a higher vertical position than avertical position of the rod 101 at the second position by 0.4 mm.Therefore, the guard-like member 101A of the rod 101 at the secondposition is in contact with the copper foil 94 disposed on the middleplate 93, and the guard-like member 101A of the rod 101 at the firstposition is located at a higher vertical position by 0.4 mm as comparedwith that of the copper foil 94 disposed on the middle plate 93.

The printed-wiring board 50 disposed so as to be engaged with theshoulder portions 97a, 97b, 97c and 97d respectively provided on bottomedges of the four column-shaped members 97A, 97B, 97C and 97D is movedupward by an amount of a predetermined stroke S. The stroke Scorresponds to the thickness of the chip-type electronic part 75 and maybe 0.4 mm, for example.

A structure of the needle 35 used in the top plate 33 (shown in FIG. 2)will be described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. The needle 35 hasa sleeve portion 35A, a rod portion 35B disposed in the sleeve portion35A, and a spring 35C. One end of the spring 35C is connected to abottom of the sleeve portion 35A, and the other end thereof is connectedto an inside end of the rod portion 35B. The sleeve portion 35A isfitted into a hole provided in the top plate 33.

When, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressing plate portion 31 is located atits pressed position and the needles 35 of the top plate 33 are pressedon the printed-wiring board 50, an inward force is applied to a tip endof the rod portion 35B. At this time, from a state that the rod portion35B is biased outward by the spring 35C as shown in FIG. 14A, the rod35B is pushed into the sleeve portion 35B against a spring force of thespring 35C. Further, the rod portion 35B is pressed onto theprinted-wiring board 50 by a compressive force of the spring 35C.

A force transmitted from the needle 35 to the printed-wiring board 50 isnot a force obtained by manually pressing the pressing plate portion 31but the compressive force of the spring 35C. Therefore, even if thepressing plate portion 31 is pressed down with an intensive force, thenthe surface of the printed-wiring board 50 can be prevented from beingdamaged.

The movable plate 57 also has a structure similar to that of the needle35 described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. As described above,the electronic-part supply rod 73 has the electronic-part storage rod73A and the extruding rod 73B. One end of the extruding rod 73B isdisposed in the electronic-part storage rod 73A, and the other endthereof is fitted to the movable plate 57. The sleeve portion 35B of theneedle 35 is fitted to a hole provided in the movable plate 57, and therod portion 35B of the needle 35 is connected to the other end of theextruding rod 73B.

When the movable plate 57 is moved from the lower-side standby positionto the upper-side fitting position, the extruding rod 73B of theelectronic-part supply rod 73 is lifted up and consequently onechip-type electronic part 75 is extruded from the upper-side opening ofthe aperture 73a of the electronic-part storage rod 73A. The chip-typeelectronic part 75 thus extruded is pressed onto the surface of theprinted-wiring board 50.

A force transmitted from the chip-type electronic part 75 to theprinted-wiring board 50 is not a force from the movable plate 57resulting from a drive apparatus but the compressive force of the spring35C. Therefore, even if the force of the drive apparatus is strong, thenthe force transmitted from the chip-type electronic part 75 to theprinted-wiring board 50 is constant and hence the surface of theprinted-wiring board 50 can be prevented from being damaged.

A method of indicating a rotation position of the electronic-part supplyrod 73 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15A to 15C. Asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 5, 7 and 8, the electronic-part supplyrod 73 is inserted into respective apertures 51A, 53A of the top plate51 and the middle plate 53. As described with reference to FIGS. 9A and9B, the electronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted into the aperture210-3A of the supporting plate 210-3 of the chip-type electronic-partloading apparatus. As described with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B, theelectronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted into the aperture 82 of thetop plate 81.

Shapes of the apertures 51A, 53A, 82 and 210-3A into which theelectronic-part supply rod 73 is inserted correspond to a shape of across section of the electronic-part storage rod 73A. The shape of thecross section of the electronic-part storage rod 73A may be a circle asshown in FIG. 15A or a square as shown in FIGS. 15B and 15C. The shapemay be a rectangular, though not shown.

A means is provided which indicates or fixes a rotation direction of theelectronic-part storage rod 73A so that the electronic-part storage rod73A should be disposed in the predetermined rotation direction. Each ofthe electronic-part storage rods 73A shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B has aprojection portion 73D on its outer periphery surface, and grooves 51a,53a, 82a, 210-3a are respectively provided at the apertures 51A, 53A, 82and 210-3A of the top plate 51, the middle plate 53, the top plate 81and the supporting plate 210-3. When the electronic-part storage rod 73Ais inserted into the apertures 51A, 53A, 82, 210-3A, the projectionportion 73D is engaged with the grooves 51a, 53a, 82a, 210-3a and hencethe electronic-part storage rod 73A is disposed in the predeterminedrotation direction.

An electronic-part storage rod 73A shown in FIG. 15C has an indication73E on its outer periphery surface, and indications 51b, 53b, 82b,210-3b are respectively provided around the apertures 51A, 53A, 82 and210-3A of the top plate 51, the middle plate 53, the top plate 81 andthe supporting plate 210-3. When the electronic-part storage rod 73A isinserted into the apertures 51A, 53A, 82, 210-3A, the indication 73E isagreed with the indications 51b, 53b, 82b, 210-3b and hence theelectronic-part storage rod 73A is disposed in the predeterminedrotation direction.

According to the present invention, since the adhesive is manuallycoated on the printed-wiring board 50 by using the manual adhesivecoating apparatus, it is advantageously possible to simplify anddownsize the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus.

According to the present invention, since the chip-type electronic parts75 are manually mounted on the printed-wiring board 50 by using themanual electronic-part fitting apparatus, it is advantageously possibleto simplify and downsize the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus.

According to the present invention, since it is possible to manuallycheck whether or not the chip-type electronic parts are mounted on thepredetermined positions of the printed-wiring board 50 by using themanual electronic-part checking apparatus, it is advantageously possibleto simplify and downsize the manual electronic-part mounting apparatus.

According to the present invention, since a large number of chip-typeelectronic parts 75 can be mounted on the printed-wiring board 50simultaneously, it is advantageously possible to improve efficiency ofthe electronic-part mounting process as compared with a process ofmounting the chip-type electronic parts 75 one by one.

According to the present invention, since a large number of chip-typeelectronic parts 75 mounted on the printed-wiring board 50 can bechecked simultaneously, it is advantageously possible to improveefficiency of the electronic-part checking process as compared with aprocess of checking the chip-type electronic parts 75 one by one.

According to the present invention, even if the number of the electronicparts 75 to be mounted on one printed-wiring board 50 is increased, thenit is possible to simultaneously mount a large number of chip-typeelectronic parts 75 and to simultaneously check them. Therefore, theelectronic-part mounting process is prevented from taking a long periodof time.

Having described preferred embodiments of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that thepresent invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments andthat various changes and modifications can be effected therein by oneskilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of thepresent invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manual adhesive coating method comprising thesteps of:supporting a printed-wiring board on a supporting member of abase plate; storing an adhesive in an adhesive storage groove of thebase plate; fitting a large number of needles to a pressing plateportion; bringing said needles in a contact with the adhesive stored inthe adhesive storage groove to put the adhesive on the needles; bringingthe needles attached with the adhesive in contact with theprinted-wiring board supported by the supporting member so as to coatthe adhesive on predetermined positions on the printed-wiring board. 2.A manual adhesive coating method according to claim 1, wherein saidpressing plate portion can be moved between its standby position and itspressed position, said pressing plate portion is moved from said standbyposition to said pressed position, thereby said needles being brought incontact with the adhesive stored in said adhesive storage groove, andsaid pressing plate portion is returned from said pressed position tosaid standby position and moved to said pressed position again, therebysaid needles being brought in contact with the printed-wiring boardsupported by said supporting member.
 3. A manual adhesive coating methodas claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting member and said adhesivestorage groove are disposed on the base plate, said base plate beingmovable between its adhesive coating position and its adhesive pickupposition, said needles being brought in contact with the adhesive storedin said adhesive storage groove, and when said base plate is disposed atsaid adhesive coating position, said needles are brought in contact withsaid printed-wiring board.